


Coloring Outside the Lines

by Goldielochs



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Cute, Cute Kids, F/M, One Shot, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 01:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20300863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldielochs/pseuds/Goldielochs
Summary: Persephone spends the evening at the party, not with her date Hermes, or with her crush. But trying to impress the most important people at the party.





	Coloring Outside the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Another oldie but goodie. This is one of my favorites. Ugh. I mean, they all are. But this one is especially precious.

Hermes slid over the roof of the car, popping up on his heels, and opened the passenger side door.

"Thank you." Persephone stepped out carefully with her inside foot first, as she was taught by the PR specialist since her first bite of scandal. The last thing she needed right now was paparazzi trying to get a go up her long white skirt. It had a scooping slit up the front that ended just under her hip. Underneath that, a smaller fitted skirt in a light pastel green came midway down her thigh. She took Hermes' hand and he lifted her up. "Never was someone such a gentleman and also doing the most at the same time."

"Thanks!" Hermes beamed down at her. "I should make that my bio for Facescroll."

"Did you grab the gift?"

"Oh shoot. Almost forgot." Hermes double backed to the back seat of his car and scrambled around. When he returned he had a small package under his arm. "Did you bring one?"

"Yes and no." Persephone shrugged.

"Well, that's cryptic." Hermes said while they walked forward. Cameras flashed as they began to climb up the stairs. He placed his hand on the low of her back, just in the space between her cropped top and her skirt. Persephone flicked him away from her bare midriff.

"What?" Hermes grinned mischievously.

"I'm your date for tonight, not your lover." Persephone rolled her eyes.

"What's the difference between friends and uh, friendlier." Hermes shrugged.

Persephone yanked his hand to the appropriate height. "Two inches." She warned.

"Fair enough." Hermes nodded.

Hebe sipped on her juice out of a wine glass. Hera stood next to Amphitrite at the head of the ballroom and folded over towards her daughter. "Why don't you go play with Rhode? Huh? It is her birthday party."

"Mom. Rhode is a child." Hebe explained while she swirled her juice. "I don't play with children." She rose her nose in the air pompously.

"You're eight years old." Hera poked her forehead.

"Well, Rhode is 5." Hebe countered as if three years gap was too tremendous. "She's actually not even 5 yet. We're just celebrating it a few days early."

"There's no one else here for her to play with." Hera leaned back and crossed her arms.

Poseidon poked his head out the kitchen with another cupcake in his hand and two beers in the other. "S'alright, bunny. You don't have to play with her, it's alright." Poseidon excused his niece. "Rhode is kind of bashful tonight anyway." He nodded to the small unsure girl in a green tulle princess gown, hiding on the other side of her mother's chair. He passed one of the beers to Minthe. "Thank gods, I am entirely way too sober for this party."

"This is a child's birthday party." Hades sighed.

"Exactly." Minthe downed the beer.

"You're the one that decided we needed to come." He crossed his arms. "You didn't have to be here."

Minthe sipped on the remaining drops. After the last party, she wasn't going to try her stupid test again. They'd go to every party if that meant he went home with her. If that meant she kept her apartment.

Hades leaned against one of the columns. "You don't even like kids."

Minthe shrugged and then eyed the incoming guests and groaned. "Fuckin' hell."

Hermes and Persephone strode in, making a beeline towards their end of the room. Hermes graciously took smaller steps but Persephone still had to walk double time to match his pace. Still they made quite the impression. Hermes wore a hoodie under a suit jacket; converse poked out of the bottom of black slacks. His hair had just enough lift to bounce alongside, and Persephone's bob swung gently, blowing back with their movement.

Hades focused in on her hand in Hermes' arm. A weird feeling he thought might be indigestion pulled on his chest. Minthe leaned her head against his chest, territorially. But Persephone and Hermes didn't even look their way.

Hermes dropped off his gift at the table. "Hey guys!" He bounded forward and kissed Amphitrite's hand. "Always a pleasure." He winked and then shook Poseidon's hand. Bending over at his hip, he waved at Rhode. "Hey birthday girl." She squeezed herself further onto the chair out of sight at being called out.

He saluted Hades and nodded at Zeus then swiveled around towards the dance floor. Hermes held his hand out for Persephone but she was eyeing the soon to be five year old.

"You promised me a dance?" Hermes bumped into her side.

"Yes." Persephone bit her lip, an idea on her mind. "Give me a minute. I'll meet you out there."

"More dancing for me then." Hermes argued for himself and dashed off.

Persephone didn't offer any greetings beside a nod of the head and a knowing smile. She whisked over to the gift table and selected a marker from an already opened gift box. She swirled her long flowing skirt out and tiptoed to the side, as smoothly as a ballerina. The skirt waved in the wind and as she kneeled down on the floor, the white fabric fanned out in front of her.

Rhode poked her head out from her mother's chair, wanting to see what all the movement was. She then saw Persephone uncapping her marker. She didn't really understand what was going on. She stepped closer to watch.

With her white skirt spread across the floor, Persephone picked out a zone and laid it flat with her hand and began to draw.

"Hey. That's mine." Rhode complained instinctively. "That's my present."

Persephone looked up with wide surprised eyes. "Oh this?" She twirled the marker in her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. No one was using it, you see. Do you mind if I borrow it?"

Rhode wasn't sure how to answer. The way grownups phrased it always tripped her up.

"You have other markers." Persephone argued quietly. "I just need the one."

Rhode looked at her mom for guidance.

"It's alright. You can share."

"Okay, fine." Rhode muttered. She huddled over to her other markers and grabbed them up protectively. "But just the one."

"Sounds like a deal." Persephone nodded and continued drawing on her skirt.

Rhode eyed her curiously over her precious markers. She could barely hold them all in her hands, but she'd be damned if she didn't keep all of them in her grasp.

"Hey, you can't do that." Rhode got even closer this time. "You can't draw on that."

Persephone smiled, as she started another doodle. "True." She nodded. "Most clothes, you can't draw on, that's very true. You're very smart. But I never liked to color inside the lines."

"You'll get in trouble." Rhode tiptoed closer.

"You see." Persephone explained. "This is a special skirt. It's supposed to be drawn on. But only this one."

"Oh." Rhode nodded. Of course. A drawing skirt. She rationalized it in her child head. She got to the edge of the white fabric and peered over her lap to see what she was doodling. "What are you drawing?"

"Butterflies." Persephone answered cooly. "They're my favorite. What do you like to draw?"

"Seahorses." Rhode answered. "And dolphins."

Persephone perked up. "Oh. Those are awesome. I wish I could draw those." She continued on her butterfly. "I wish I knew how."

Rhode got on her knees and wiggled closer. "I can draw them."

"Really?" Persephone smiled. "That's cool. Do you think you can show me how?"

Rhode sat back on her bottom and thought.

"You can use this marker if you want." Persephone bribed, flipping her marker over.

"Okay." Rhode accepted these conditions. She dropped her other markers and grabbed the one in Persephone's hand. "So, I like to draw a question mark first for the seahorse like this." Rhode began to explain her art, doodling on her skirt in short uneven lines. "And then I do a dot for the eye like this."

"Oh, that's a good technique." Persephone admired. "Would you help me draw some butterflies?"

Around the corner, Hebe hopped off her chair and set her wine glass down. She turned around as if not interested, then leaned back to see what Persephone and Rhode were doing. She leaned back so far, she almost fell and had to catch herself.

As if nothing had happened, she stormed up to them. "What are you doing? This is a party. You can't sit on the floor at a party." Kids these days.

Rhode and Persephone looked up from their doodles.

"We're drawing butterflies." Rhode answered first, assertively. "Persephone has a drawing skirt and she needs it to be colored in with butterflies." She grabbed another colored marker. "I'm working on a green one. I already did a purple one. You can do a yellow one if you want." Rhode offered a marker up to Hebe.

Persephone leaned back enjoying this conversation.

Hebe rolled her right ankle around. "This is silly." She stated.

"Very silly." Persephone agreed. "Would you like to join us?"

Hera watched her young daughter crawl on the floor with a marker in her hand. Hebe's legs swung up behind her as she doodled a bushel of butterflies on her section of skirt. She giggled at something out of earshot. Persephone's laughter joining in. Rhode rolled on the floor. For someone who was to embody youth, Hera had never seen her child actual enjoy childhood.

Hades watched with a wistfulness he didn't quite understand. Innocence, pure and simple joys. Something he hadn't seen in 20 lifetimes. He wasn't alone.

Minthe took a deep breath and turned away. "Let's get out of here." Her voice lacked any kind of sourness. She pulled on his tie, but he didn't budge.

"Okay." Persephone spread her arms out. "This looks amazing. I think that's enough."

"Wait, I'm not finished." Hebe put a hand on Persephone's arm.

"Okay. Take your time." Persephone waited patiently.

Rhode got back on her knees and then stood up to admire her work. Every marker was used. Not all the doodles resembled butterflies, but from farway it didn't matter. It was all just wild marks on her skirt in every color.

"There." Hebe patted her art. "Finished."

"Beautiful." Persephone crossed her legs and stood on her knees. "Now. I'll need help with the next part too. It's been a very long time, and I've forgotten how to spin."

"How did you forget how to spin?" Hebe raised her eyebrow. "You just go like this." She spun switching back and forth on her feet. Persephone caught her as she waddled sideways with dizziness.

"Like this! Like this!" Rhode hopped energetically. She spun until she fell down.

"Oh. I see. I think I got it." Persephone took note. "So, like this?" Persephone turned on her left foot, bringing her right in at an angle. She held her arms out like a ballerina and spun on her tip toe.

Rhode gasped. Catching the wind as she spun, the skirt fluttered through the air. "Woah." Hebe grinned. Four dozen butterflies of all shapes and sizes surrounded Persephone, flapping in a circle, orbiting around her skit and then flying upwards. A full rainbow of butterflies, orange ones and blue. Purple and red wings flapping in tandem.

Rhode pumped her fists up in the air and a peel of laughter followed.

Persephone finished her spin with her arms pointing to one side gracefully. She looked up to see Hades nearly passing out in the corner.

She blushed and turned back to the girls. "What do you think?"

Rhode skipped towards the butterflies and tried to catch one. Persephone held out her finger and a green one fluttered to her.

"Woah." Rhode reached up with grabby fingers. "I want- I wanna hold one."

"Okay, but you have to be gentle. Small creatures need extra tenderness." Persephone warned softly. "So, you have to show me your gentle hand first before I let one land on you."

Rhode held out her hand. "Like this?"

"Okay, good." Persephone slowly moved her hand over. "Now, you can't touch it. These creatures don't want to be touched. They're very fragile. It's just going to land on you."

"Okay." Rhode nodded.

Persephone smiled and touched her finger to the birthday girls. It fluttered to her finger. Rhode laughed. "Momma!" She looked over to Amphitrite. "Momma, look! Look!"

Hebe pulled on Persephone's skirt. "Can I hold one, please?" She asked politely.

"Hold out your hand. There we go."

Hebe broke out in a huge grin as a large yellow butterfly landed on her finger.

Persephone stood back up to her full height and watched the girls buzzing carefully with excitement.

"You're so good with them." Amphitrite called to Persephone. Persephone made her way over to her.

"Yeah. Well." Persephone shrugged nonchalantly. "It's nothing."

"I bet you'll want a bushel of your own one day, then." Amphitrite presumed.

"A bushel of what?"

"Children."

Persephone blinked and swallowed something down her throat. "Oh." Her breath came out shallow. "I-I." She took a step back. "Well. I don't-" She began to shake her head. "I never thought about it, but I can't, um, I can't have children." Persephone finally admitted hurriedly. She cast her eyes down. "Ex-excuse me. I promised someone a dance."

As she turned to flee, she caught Hera looking at her with concern. That was it. Suddenly, it all made sense. Persephone wasn't in a funk; Persephone wanted a family.

"Persephone." Hera called out to her. "Persephone wait."

But the Goddess of Spring balled her hands into fists at her side and disappeared into the crowd on the dance floor. A lingering trail of butterflies fluttered behind her.

"Is she alright?" Hades asked at Hera's side.

Hera huffed a big sigh, trying to keep a tear from leaking down her cheek. "Small creatures need extra tenderness."


End file.
